Hello, people on the internet! Welcome back to my Korean drama review!
Well, have you followed the on-going Korean dramas this month? or maybe you somehow hear the news about any of them?
Based on the article I have searched on www.kpopmap.com, The Tale of Nine-Tailed is one of the highest-rated Korean dramas in Wednesday-Thursday ratings. The Tale of Nine-Tailed is a fantasy drama about Gumiho. Gumiho itself is a mythological creature in South Korea's folklore formed as a fox and has lived for hundreds, even thousands of years. It has long nine tails and often changes its form into a beautiful lady and attracts any human, and later the Gumiho could eat their heart. Meanwhile, the Tale of Nine-Tailed drama represented Gumiho as regular people and blended with the human. Lee Dong Wook ruled the Tale of Nine-Tailed drama as Lee Yon and Kim Bum as Lee Rang. Both of them are Gumiho siblings. Lee Rang also had a Gumiho partner named Ki Yuri. This drama unfolded so many social and human problems towards animals. Nevertheless, they include the mystic and thrilling sensation in a few parts. They showed a scene where animal abuse by humans happened in real life. I will tell you how this Korean drama shows the minor side of cruelty from human beings to animals.
⚠️TRIGGER PICTURE WARNING ⚠️
As we can see in the fifth episode, there was a scene of three people wearing baseball jerseys and located in a neglected building. They spent their time in the location and having fun until the scene showed a needy dog. The three people trapped the dog and tied it very tight until it left bruises around the dog's neck. It wasn't very nice for the dog to see. Moreover, the dog didn't have its front foot. It was trying to desist from the violation, although the dog couldn't do much. The dog was only yelping and begging to the people with a low voice.
The scene shifted to Lee Rang and Ki Yuri that had been on the way home. Lee Rang had some chat with Ki Yuri, who drove him and found out a miserable dog needed some help. Lee Rang and Ki Yuri witnessed the three culprits throwing balls at the dog. Lee Rang settled them by grabbing one of their hand and twisting fiercely until the athlete begged him to let him go. Nevertheless, the game had not been over yet. Lee Rang made the athlete snarled because of the pain that Lee Rang gave to him. Lee Rang must be distraught and mad because of the wickedness of humans who tortured an animal.
Ki Yuri also didn't miss the opportunity to get revenge on the other two criminals. The three of them pleaded to be released and finally felt what the dog would feel if they did the same thing to him. Lee Rang and Ki Yuri, antagonists of the drama, somehow have compassion towards another animal like them. Ki Yuri herself is a Russian fox that flown illegally by Lee Rang direct to South Korea. People trapped her in a zoo and harassed her until she had violent wounds in her shoulder area. The scars looked disastrous on her. Back to the scene, they showed how destructive and brutal it is to be ignorant and arrogant human—these scenes melt my heart very much.
Governments themselves have been aware of this kind of problem. As an illustration, in the United States, they have already signed an Animal Welfare Act. Animal Welfare Act is an example of an animal protection law and was signed in the United States that preserves the animal from abusive treatments either from its owner or other humans. In Indonesia, the government also already made regulations about light-mal treatment towards animals and its punishments written on KUHP Chapter XIV articles 302. The criminals will be prisoned a maximum of six months or a fine of three hundred rupiahs. In my assumption, the government has succeeded in preparing prevention. However, we couldn't ensure that the government anticipates the small cases of abusing animals as what the three athletes did around the neglected building area.
Animal cruelty is a serious problem that we have to face unconsciously in real life. This drama reminds us to keep our eyes on our surroundings involving animals that live alongside us. Cats, dogs, reptiles, elephants, foxes, even water beings such as dolphins, seals, and sharks need us to protect their lives by not disturbing them and their ecosystems. Making them a part of a circus and cage them for a long time, cut their fins for culinary purposes, and sometimes hunt them illegally and cut their heads for decoration purposes. Still, there was a case that a small animal as a hamster was mercilessly killed by a Taiwanese man named Liu Xia Tai, and he uploaded it on the internet. Humans' brutality and evil kill the animals maliciously, and somehow they do not even notice that the action makes the animals extinct and lose their sense of caring towards environments.
Put together from the drama, animal abuse is a small issue but necessary to be emphasized. Lee Rang and Ki Yuri, who were presenting foxes, protected the dog because they have the senses to preserve as animals. Why would we, as humans, who have immense power, do not do much better assurance to animals than them? Why would we take so many advantages from animals and let the animals suffer? Why do we have to be that evil towards God's creatures? Even animals frequently provide us with their service and use their forces. We use dogs to pull up sleds in the winter snow, or maybe horses to hike and travel around. Even they provide meat for us to eat, including wool or skin for us to wear as a jacket.
"Why does weak creature like human reach the top of the food chain?" -Lee Rang, a Gumiho.
By throwing revenge on the athletes, Lee Rang and Ki Yuri taught us that we would receive what we do to others, especially the animals. If we cause anything wrong, bad things will return to us in the future. As possible as we can do, little good deeds will bring decency not only for humans but also for other beings and their habitats. The environment must balance to reach stability, and we should make sure we do not destroy any of them to make the world a better place to live.
What about the scenes where the dogs are completely still? like when the dog is getting vet treatment. No dog would stay that still, so I wonder if they are fully sedated or worse for the scene. Even if they are sedated it is inmoral, full sedation on a healthy animal is dangerous and not justified.